Masterminding your house move

For anyone who dreams of a new home but is put off by having to sell an existing property first, one house builder might just have the answer.

Redrow has been showing would-be customers in Baddeley Green, near Stoke, how to sell up in three easy steps using its popular ‘Mastermove’ service. And one happy buyer who took advantage of the scheme has already recommended ‘mastermove-ing’ to all her friends and family.

Dawn Hall, 36, had been looking for a new home with her partner Barry Foxall for over two years when she found out about Doulton Grange – and Mastermove – in Baddeley Green.

She says: “We both wanted this move to be our last, and so were looking for a special home where we’d be happy for a long time. I had a checklist of things I wanted from our new property – lots of space, nice layout, quiet location, en-suite facilities… the list goes on! I also really wanted a brand new property as I wanted to be the first person to live there, and the ten-year NHBC Buildmark warranty offers real peace of mind.

“We wanted to move closer to Barry’s mum from where we were in Congleton, Cheshire, and so came to have a look around the properties at Doulton Grange. The Bowness three-storey townhouse ticked off everything I was looking for - and finding out about Mastermove was the icing on the cake.”

The way the service works is simple. For a minimal fee of £50, customers can ‘hold’ their dream Redrow home for up to four weeks, whilst the house builder takes care of selling their existing property.

A hand-picked local estate agent will manage the sale, with Redrow checking on the progress at regular intervals.

Dawn says: “We’re both busy people who work full time, and so having Redrow take care of the sale and do all the chasing and ringing around on our behalf was invaluable. The sales office kept us up-to-date the whole way along and couldn’t do enough to help – they were so efficient. Once Redrow had found us a buyer, we were packing our suitcases in under two weeks.”

Linda Androlia, sales director for Redrow Homes (West Midlands) says: “Seeing how much the Mastermove service can help customers like Dawn and Barry is fantastic, and it’s a pleasure that we can relieve some of the stress of selling a property from our buyers. With our help you can go from selling up to moving in much quicker than you might expect, as Dawn and Barry have proved.”

Once the customer’s purchase of their brand new home has legally completed, Redrow will then pay all of the estate agent’s fees and refund the £50 Mastermove fee – making the service completely free. What’s more, in the unlikely event that Redrow does not find a buyer for their existing house, the registration fee is refunded on a no sale – no fee basis.

Dawn adds: “I really can’t speak highly enough of the service we’ve had, it’s been absolutely wonderful.”

Mastermove is currently available at Doulton Grange, located on Leek New Road, Baddeley Green. Properties currently on release include three and four-bedroom homes, including versitile three-storey designs. Prices start at £149,950 for a three-bedroom Fairwood, while prices for a four-bedroom home currently range from £171,950 to £269,950.

Doulton Grange is a well established development with a wide mix of new homes available. The variety of property types available means the development appeals to buyers across the board, from first-timers and young professionals to families or downsizers.

The entrance to the development resembles a Georgian avenue, with three-storey townhouses lining each side, while further into the development Redrow has created its more traditional two-storey properties and apartments.

Excellent transport links to the A50 and A500 giving direct links to the M6, Birmingham and Manchester make the development a commuter’s dream, and Festival Park and Octagon Retail Park in Hanley will appeal to those after a retail fix, offering some of the best local shopping.

To find out more about the homes available at Doulton Grange – and Mastermove – visit redrow.co.uk.